Jones, and then
by slery
Summary: A tag to the episode Jones. Reid begs for help and Gideon's advice sucks.


Title: Jones, and then

Author: slery

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Rating: T

Characters: Reid, Ethan, Morgan, Gideon, the team

WARNINGS: possible drug use, may need a hanky

Spoilers: Jones

Beta: the-vampire-act and Wingstar102

Disclaimer: Wished I owned but sadly, no. Suing will only reward you with a talkative sick cat.

Summary: A tag to the episode Jones. Reid begs for help and Gideon's advice sucks.

"I ask for help and that is all you can say? Seriously?" Reid stood up and faced his mentor. "Well, you know what? Thanks for nothing." He just couldn't believe that he finally had the courage to admit that he couldn't cope, and all he got was a lecture about 'that's the way the job was'.

"Reid, calm down." Gideon placed his hand on the younger agent's shoulder.

"Don't touch me." Spencer shouted and then threw a right hook. He was stunned and watched his mentor fall back into the chair, holding his jaw. A moment later Reid ran from the bar, clutching his messenger bag across his shoulder. He ran for four blocks, turned into an alley and laid back against the brick exterior of the building as he tried to catch his breath. The stench of rotting garbage almost made him gag, and his hand was throbbing in time with his fast heart rate.

"What have I done?" The skinny man asked himself. _God, this is all going so wrong. I just want it to go away. I don't want to think anymore._ He slid down the wall and searched in his bag for a needle and one of the vials while tears rained down his cheeks.

***

Ethan continued to play while intently watching Spencer and his mentor. He was very concerned about his friend. Reid had never looked this bad in all the years he had known the other man. It broke his heart to see the pain in those gentle eyes. His fingers ran gracefully over the keys and switched to another minor key to sound out the sad mood he saw reflected back at him.

He closed his eyes for a moment and remembered the days they competed against each other. Good competition--the kind that made you work harder and smarter but completely without malice. He also remembered the days that he would silently follow the skinny kid home and be his shoulder to cry on when he needed someone when his mother wasn't all there that day.

When he opened his eyes, Spencer was standing in front of his mentor. Ethan would have fallen down if he hadn't already been sitting. He had never seen Reid get violent, not ever. The musician watched the shock register on his friend's face, and when Spencer ran out of the bar, he hurried to find out what had happened.

"What did you do?" Ethan confronted Gideon.

"I, uh, I thought I was helping."

"Yeah, that's what it really looked like. I've got to find him." He raced into the night hoping that he was even going in the right direction. The bullies from Reid's past had taught him how to be quick and evade pursuit. Ethan slowed after three blocks and started listening, hoping that Spencer was hiding as was his signature move. Voices floated from the bar across the street, and horns honked at the four-way stop just ahead. He almost gave up when he turned around only to hear someone sobbing up ahead. Quietly he followed the sound and got the second shock of his life that night.

Huddled next to a dumpster his friend was tying a tourniquet around the upper portion of his left arm. "Spencer, no." Ethan knelt down next to him and pulled the end of the exercise band from the clenched teeth. Then he pulled the sobbing man into his arms and held on; he knew life and death were hanging on in the middle of the trash strewn across the dark alley.

Ten minutes later Ethan pulled the stick-thin man up and held him close as they walked back to his small apartment. Inside he led Spencer to the bathroom and gently eased him down onto the closed lid of the toilet. He started to pull away, but bony fingers clutched at his arms.

"Don't leave me." Spencer whispered.

"I'm not. I'm just going to run you a bath and get some towels." He stood up and kissed the top of the messy brown curls.

The tub was halfway filled when he returned with towels, some pajama bottoms, and his sweatshirt. Ethan looked at the broken man before him. Rail-thin arms were held close as he rocked back and forth slowly. The taller man took a deep breath. Spencer looked just like his mother on her bad days. Slowly he began to strip off the layers of clothing. He was horrified at the body before him. Reid had always had a problem putting on weight, but now he was starting to look skeletal. Every rib was outlined; the wrists showed the two bones making up his arms, the shoulders and clavicle stuck out creating grotesque shadows underneath. He had already seen the aged boniness of the long fingers and the dark circles that had always been present that now looked worse in the harsh bathroom light. The left ankle and foot were swollen in contrast and had garish green and yellow bruising.

"Come on, let's get you into the tub and cleaned up." Ethan knew the situation was bad. Reid was always body conscious and should have been balking at his nakedness by now. Instead, he was quiet and passive. _Old friend, what happened to damage you like this? You're so frail. You've never been frail before, always strong and determined in spite of what everyone threw at you or how you were used__ out of jealousy__._He tenderly cleaned the body before him and then lovingly dried and dressed the withdrawn soul.

***

Morgan looked up when Gideon stepped into the hotel lobby where the rest of the team had gathered.

"What happened to you?" Hotch asked.

"Reid hit me."

"What the hell did you do to him?" Morgan jumped up and accused.

"He admitted that he was having problems."

"And you helpfully provided him some philosophical lecture instead of just listening and giving emotional support. Where is he?" Morgan got right up in Gideon's face, waiting for his answer.

Morgan watched the older profiler hesitate. Gideon met his dark eyes when he responded. "Reid ran away."

"What?" Hotch grabbed Morgan before he could lay into the other man. "Let me go; I have to go find him!" When he was released, he raced for the SUV. Morgan only went two blocks before he pulled over and called Garcia.

"_Speak to me."_

"Baby Girl, I need you to work some magic for me."

"_What's wrong?"_

"Reid is missing." He sighed when he heard the gasp over the phone.

"_What happened?"_

"He had a little heart-to-heart talk with Gideon and it didn't go so well. The kid ran away." He waited for her reaction but was surprised when nothing was forth coming. "Can you try tracking his cell phone first?"

"_Already on it, but he has it turned off."_

Morgan could hear more keys clicking. "He told me he has a friend here. They went out the other night. See if you can track him down—Ethan Stewart. They grew up together in Vegas."

"_I'm sending the address to your phone now. You had better bring my baby back. Call me when you can?"_

Derek looked at his phone before closing it. He couldn't believe she had just hung up on him. Well, the team did tend to do crazy things when Reid was in trouble. He keyed his phone and pulled up the address and directions.

***

Morgan knocked on the third door in the dark hallway. A tall man with dark hair, a dark beard, and dark eyes opened the entrance. "Is Reid here?"

"What do you want?" The man asked defensively.

"I want to make sure he's okay."

Ethan stepped back and motioned towards the couch where Morgan could see his friend curled up in an over-sized sweatshirt and clutching a blanket in his sleep. "As you can see, he is anything but all right." Derek stepped into the shadowed room and walked towards the couch. He heard the other man shut and lock the door before he stepped up behind him.

"What happened to him? He has never looked this bad." Ethan whispered before walking over to the couch and sitting back down on the edge. He stroked the slightly damp hair and took the long fingers in his hand when they released the blanket and reached for him. "Shh, just rest." He soothed.

Derek watched the interaction carefully. Reid hadn't said there was anything more to their friendship than competition. "He was kidnapped, tortured, drugged, and made to choose who lived by an unsub with DID."

"Oh my god." Ethan began stroking Spencer's back when he became restless. "Why hasn't anyone done anything for him?"

"What do you mean?"

"Haven't you looked at him?" Stewart gave Morgan a hard glare. "He's nothing but skin and bones and . . . and . . . and he's so fragile. Spencer has never been fragile."

Derek took a good hard look at his friend. He knew things were bad, but somehow he hadn't really seen. "I think . . . I think maybe he should stay here." Morgan couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth. He didn't want to leave his little brother. However, he did want to do what was best for him, and Ethan seemed to be the only one that had really looked at Spencer and seen what was happening.

Reid opened his eyes and rubbed the sleep from them before sitting up. "Ethan?"

"Right here."

Morgan watched his friend take in his surroundings before the sad eyes landed on him. "How are you doing?"

Spencer looked down at his hands in his lap and started twisting his fingers. "Not so good."

Derek walked over to the couch and crouched in front of the huddled figure before taking the frustrated hands in his own. "Reid, I think you should stay here with Ethan." The watery eyes almost caused his undoing. "Don't think that we don't want you or don't love you, but we haven't done a very good job of taking care of you." He watched the emotions race across the expressive face.

"We want you back, but you need someone that can help you get well. I'll tell the others . . . and any time you are ready to come back, we'll be waiting." Morgan pulled the slender form into his arms and blinked back his own tears. "If you don't want to come back, that's okay too." The older man hated the words he had just said. He wanted him back so much but he realized it wasn't about what he or any of the team wanted. It was about what Spencer needed. "Don't forget how much we all love you and keep in touch." Derek slowly stood up and walked out the door. Garcia was going to be so mad at him.

THE END


End file.
